Disclaimer: Alas it does not belong to one such as me.
Chapter four Ghouls.
Fresh cookies baking in the oven, coffee boiling, Yorkshire puddings steadily rising. Those are the welcoming smells of home, smells you associate with a warm sheltered place where you're mother's waiting to kiss everything better.
The first thing Faith associated with her new home was the clinically clean smell of to much soap. The smell of a germ killing air freshener, used to douse the house with wholesome bacteria. These smells were fake, only there to cover up the blood and terror seeping into the carpet.
Faith only noticed this fact as she ran down to the basement, Willow in her wake with Buffy and Lola at the front. She wasn't sure what to do about it, all she new was that it wasn't right.
The four women came to a halt outside a firmly sealed metal door.
"DAWN HUNNY, YOU IN THERE?" Buffy shouted.
"YEAH!" Dawn answered indistinctly. Buffy took a step back and pushed against the door; it popped open sending waves of damp heat into their direction.
They made their way inside, where Dawn was sitting against the wall her body lulling into an arch.
"Dawn babe what happened?" Lola asked.
"Yeah I was really worried," Buffy said.
"What trouble you in this time?" Faith laughed.
"Sweetie are you ok," Willow questioned.
"Yeah I'm fine but that's not," she said pointing to a slumped body in the corner. Buffy made her way over to it but jumped back up in alarm.
"What is it?" three voices asked.
"It's a ghoul! And Dawn seems to have…killed it!" Buffy shrieked back.
"Do you mean an evil spirit or demon in Muslim folklore believed to plunder graves, feed on corpses and who delights in revolting?" Willow asked. Buffy, Faith and Dawn stared at her; Lola opened her mouth to say something then closed it and settled for making an astonished and somewhat sarcastic face.
"Ok I think we better move this body, I guess the people that used to live here left us a little welcome present. But at least it's been deadified and now we know what was causing all that pitter bloody patter," Buffy said brightly (clearly being friends with three Londoners was having an effect on her speach.)
It wasn't right that Faith and all the other Scooby's should associate the smells of death with home but it was all that they new.
A while later all the Scooby's were sitting on large sofas that surrounded a flat widescreen TV which had somehow turned up one day last year.
"So they said they were a detective agency abroad by the name of The Order and they carried a crap version of stakes," Giles concluded, Buffy and the others had filled him in on the happenings in the ally when they got back.
"Well yeah but the weird thing was they seemed more scared of us than of the vamps infact both of them seemed to think vamps were well normal," Buffy said.
"So you're saying you think they might know about the mystical world?" Giles asked, Buffy nodded.
"This is coming from a one eyed carpenter but, what I don't get are the stakes. I mean by what you've said bout them they sound preety lousy," Xander added.
"Yeah and everyone knows you can't dust a vampire with a small stake, it just doesn't work! I mean you'd think it wouldn't matter, but NOOOO it does!" Dawn sniffed. Faith patted her shoulder in a comforting yes Dawn is crazy kind off way.
"I don't believe they were stakes," Giles said, briefly glancing at Dawn in confusion.
"Can you vague that up for me some more?" Buffy asked.
"Wands," Willow answered,
"Uh yes the famous wands that we all love and adore, infact I'm going to go and get mine out right now so we can all delight in it," Xander joked, badly.
She elaborated. "When I was with the covern in England there were some witches who didn't do Wiccaish magic instead they used wands and cauldrons to cast spells. I only talked to them once so I don't know much about it but the two boys in the ally, the wood they were holding looked a lot like the wands those witches used."
Giles started to nod "Yes Willow that may indeed be what these boys were holding but for now I think we should try and fined out more about this Order."
A/N: The Quotes have no relation to the story I just like them. LOL.
Angelus: I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been such a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured someone, they didn't even have chainsaws.
Spike: What's this? Sittin' around watching the telly while there's evil still afoot? It's not very industrious of you. I say we go out there and kick a little demon ass! What, can't go without your Buffy, is that it? Let's find her! She is the chosen one, after all. Come on! Vampires! Grrr! Nasty! Let's annihilate them, for justice, and for... the safety of puppies... and Christmas, right? Let's fight that evil! Let's kill something! Oh, come on!
Giles: What ever happened to Latin? At least when that made no sense, the church approved.
Xander: It's funny how the earth never opens up and swallows you when you want it to.
Buffy: Giles, care? I'm putting my life on the line, battling the undead. Look, I broke a nail, ok? I'm wearing a press-on. The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest; you can go hmm.
Willow: I'm not ashamed. It's the computer age. Nerds are in. They're still in, right?